|
 Born
the eldest son of Del-Roy
and Alice Kett in Riverside
Ontario, Greg has a younger
brother Brian who lives in
Mississippi for most of the
year. He was very heavily
involved in sports growing
up – Golf, Hockey, Baseball,
Football with dad often
coaching.
After being accepted at
both the University of
Guelph and the Niagara Parks
School of Horticulture, he
chose the latter and spent
three full years there
graduating with Honours in
Horticulture.
Not wanting to work in
TORONTO, he refused to
accept any opportunities
there until several months
after graduation and it was
starting to look like he was
going to have to take
something along those lines
when I was called about a
job as a gardener in
Kitchener. Interestingly he
had also (reluctantly)
accepted a similar job in
Scarborough. He ended up
taking the job in Kitchener
and have never regretted
that. Even more interesting,
I had been working at
Windsor Memorial & Windsor
Grove Cemeteries while
waiting for his career-path
to develop further.
A few months after taking
the job as a gardener, he
became the gardener
lead-hand and then
ultimately Supervisor of
Horticulture. In his late
twenties he had applied for
2 open positions in
Kitchener – Superintendent
of Golf Operations and
Superintendent of Cemetery
Operations. Everyone was
shocked when he chose
‘cemeteries’. Again, no
regrets!
 
Greg and Jan have 2
daughters (Emily & Taryn)
and Greg has a son (Matt).
Emily is attending the
University of Guelph, Taryn
lives in the K-W area and
Matt works in the automotive
sector in Brampton
They have been married
for almost 27 years – and as
Jan says, “they said it
wouldn’t last” but it has
and in spite of the
challenges that all parents
face – well all honest
parents face – our life
together is good.
Greg served in various
capacities with his Alumni
Association – serving on
both the Board of Directors
as well as its Foundation –
chairing both organizations.
He served with a variety
of groups while in Kitchener
– the Municipal Staff
Association, Kitchener
Hockey Referees Association,
Kitchener Lacrosse Referees
Association, Kitchener Ball
Hockey Referees Association,
Kitchener’s Laubach for
Literacy Program.
While in Listowel &
Walkerton he was involved in
Rotary of course as well as
various hockey/ball hockey
associations, and with
Communities in Bloom. In
Chatham, he remained
involved in hockey
refereeing, volunteering at
Riverview Gardens as well as
serve on the Board of
Directors of its Family
Council, annually am
involved in the Goodfellows
campaigns, and of course a
‘Sunrise’ Rotarian and was
recently elected to its
Board of Directors. He also
assists the Communities in
Bloom group.
Another involvement is
donating blood. As of today
Greg has donated 191 units
of blood and is nearing his
personal goal of 200 units.
 Greg
showed a video, and invited
everyone to enjoy a good
laugh at some of the photos
– as he found them worth a
laugh himself.
Blake thanked Greg for his
presentation today – one of
the best parts of attending
a Rotary Meeting!
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